The Last Messenger of Zitol Book Review

About the book:
When Rishi is kidnapped and taken to Zitól, she faces an unthinkable future: she is to be sacrificed to appease the gods. To survive in this place, where greed, lust, and fear eclipse compassion, Rishi befriends the selfish and ignorant king, only to discover that he may not have the power to save her after all.


About the author:
Chelsea Bagley Dyreng is the author of “The Cenote.” She was raised in Wyoming and Idaho and earned her BA at Brigham Young University. She worked for several years as a librarian before moving to North Carolina where she and her husband are raising five God-fearing, book-loving, adventure-seeking kids.

From Reidhead Randomness:
 This is an intriguing story about Rishi, the pure, honest, virtuous girl.  She is such a kind and wonderful person.  Because of this, her life is in danger!  This is a great story that is full of action, suspense and a dash of romance.  The author does a great job describing the surrounding, and the people, so you can make a very good picture in your mind.  The writing is excellent, and the story will leave you wanting more.  I very much enjoyed reading this book!

The Holy Ghost, & Blessing the Nephite Children Book Reviews

About the books:
“Blessing the Nephite Children”:
Snuggle up with your kids and learn about Jesus’s visit to the Nephites. This colorful board book is perfectly designed for little fingers and small attention spans. Experience the beauty of Christ’s personal love in the Book of Mormon with your little ones and come to see the ways the Savior reaches out to them today.

“The Holy Ghost”:
Get to know the Holy Ghost, from baptism on! This engaging book provides fill-in-the-blank stories, coloring pages, and other fun activities for your kids to help get them ready to receive the Holy Ghost and rely on Him for the rest of their lives. Come to understand and feel the Spirit, one of the greatest gifts from God.

About the author:
Catherine Christensen graduated magna cum laude from BYU with a degree in English and editing. She worked in her dream job acquiring and editing books before switching to her other dream job of full-time mother. She is a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom and has lived most of her life in England. She currently resides in Springville, Utah, with her husband and daughter. Catherine is the author of “I Can Pray Everyday” and “Emily’s Perfect Christmas Tree.”

About the illustrators:
Jane Delve has been painting her whole life, starting out small with jobs as an illustrator for a local newspaper and as a muralist for a local children’s nursery. She studied art, design, and animation at a college in London and later at the University of Wales. Since then, Jane has mostly painted on commission, specializing in stylised family portraits on large canvases. She has also illustrated the children’s book Emily’s Perfect Christmas Tree and teaches local art workshops. Jane and her husband Ben have three children and live in Bridgend, Wales.

As a young boy, Jay Fontano loved to watch cartoons on TV and read comic strips in the newspaper. Now he works as an illustrator drawing funny pictures for T-shirts and illustrations for books. Jay and his wife have six children and a dog named Nacho. They live near the mountains in Utah and love to go camping and have fun together. He still watches cartoons and reads comic strips whenever he can.


From REIDHEAD RANDOMNESS:

When The Holy Ghost book arrived, my soon to be 8 year old daughter snatched it right up!  She thought it was specifically was for her!  And *technically* it was....but I would have liked to have seen it FIRST.  lol! It is full of wonderful activities, crafts, mazes, coloring, word searches, dot to dots, etc. and some great explanations of important doctrines too.  THIS IS PERFECT for anyone getting baptized!  It would be a great gift!  I couldn't have been more pleased and excited for this darling book.....The Holy Ghost.

The book Blessing the Nephite Children would be a great gift for any new parent!  It has fabulous illustrations that are very cute and child friendly.  The pictures are super colorful and exciting.  The story is simple, so that young children can get the wonderful message.  Jesus, and the children are a main focus for this darling story book.  It is a board book..so its sturdy enough to withstand the chewing and throwing, and the "I want to turn the page" that will inevitably happen when littles are involved.

Ella's Will Book review

About the book:
Will Hawkins is just a simple stable boy. How can he hope to woo Ella, his once-wealthy childhood friend who is stubbornly independent, especially when his competition is the prince? Without any magic or fairy godmothers, Will must show Ella that he is her true prince charming in this perspective twist of the Cinderella story.


About the author:
Jessilyn Stewart Peaslee graduated with a BA in English from Brigham Young University in 2004. She loved taking creative writing classes, and was particularly fond of the works of Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and the Bronte sisters. She also studied French and the humanities. Jessilyn grew up in the beautiful deserts of Southern California and now resides in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in Saratoga Springs, Utah, with her husband and five boys.

From Reidhead Randomness:
This is a guest post from my daughter.  She was so excited to get another Ella book.  She REALLY loves these 2 books!  She has lent them to friends and referred them to many people!  She jumped around with excitement when this book came in the mail!

From my daughter:

This charming story is so beautifully written. I just loved it! Fair warning, I mistook this as a sequel instead of just a different view. Just as good all the same, but can be confusing through the first chapters as to why Ella was not the main focus, as she was in Ella.

This book is of the Small town boy, Will. Will is just going home after hard work at the royal stables when he sees a girl in a thin little dress and no shoes...their relationship takes off from there. Will wants to take Ella away from the abusive family, but Ella won't go. While working, Will overhears the prince talking about a ball thrown in his honor.   Every maiden in the kingdom is invited to try to become the next princess...and that includes Ella, she having the same qualities that the prince says he wants. Join Will in his internal battle... he wants to marry her, but at the same time he wants to let the prince marry her and give her a better life than he could provide.   Such an amazing novel!!! I give it 5 stars!!! I've let a couple of my friends read it and they loved it as much as I do!!! It's a great book and I hope that there'll be another book whether it's a sequel or another different view of the story...maybe the prince...or Ella being a mom...or something else.   I'm not an author, just a reader in love with these books. :-)

Ian Quicksilver, the Cursed Dagger Book Review

About the book:
In order to break an evil curse, Ian Quicksilver, heir to the Bankhirian throne, has two weeks to get Princess Arianna to fall for him. But first he must take care of a rampaging dragon and a maniacal magician before they destroy his home town! He’ll have to find the courage to save two worlds—and pass his classes—in this witty sci-fi adventure.


About the author:
Alyson Peterson lives in a mountainside gully—of all places—in northern Utah with her neurotic, shed-tastic dog, two ninja kids, and superhero husband. She spends her time painting, breaking bones at her Martial Arts class (mostly her own) and reading as many books as she can get her hands on. Alyson is the author of “Ian Quicksilver: The Warrior’s Return.”

From Reidhead Randomness:
This is a guest post from my daughter...who squealed as soon as she got it in her hands.  She also jumped up and down because she was so excited!

This is the amazing new sequel to Ian Quicksilver. I absolutely loved it! This book picks up where the first left off; where Ian is still trying to court and marry princess Arianna to unite their two kingdoms.  The problem was that she just doesn't like him. On a different note their kingdoms are falling apart because of a evil wizard, who offers Ian a  tempting deal in which if won the wizard would leave forever... (hmmmm...legit???)  This is an amazing book to read. I have recommended these two books many times to my friends many times and they all loved it!!! I love this series. When my mom told me we got the sequel I did a little happy dance.  (FYI it was BIG).  These books are both going to impress. If you're like me, I hate weird unfinished endings but this is great, it leaves room to make another book...or leave it as is and leave you wanting more but not hanging.